Tolkien, Transformer of Culture By Colleen Carroll April 19, 2002 What Christians Can Learn from The Lord of the Rings For Christian artists, entertainers, and writers desperate to engage popular culture, the success of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is something of a curiosity. On the one hand, Tolkien's epic saga of life in mythical Middle Earth has set a new standard for multimedia secular success. The Rings series has sold more than 100 million books; spawned legions of devoted fan clubs, conferences, and festivals; and served as the forerunner for an entire genre of fantasy literature....